Reaping the benefits of eating right and taking supplements requires a healthy digestive system. Think of it like this… if we can’t digest food, absorb nutrients and eliminate waste, we’re not going to be very healthy. All of us, doctors included, tend to overlook the fact that our digestive system is intimately connected to overall health. And this is a big mistake.

So what’s the first step in improving digestion? It’s restoring youthful levels of probiotics, or living bacteria, known as our normal gut flora. These healthy gut bacteria support every part of our digestion system.

Are there really bacteria in my gut?

Yes. Your digestive tract contains billions of beneficial bacteria, called probiotics. Many different strains of bacteria are found in your gut and all of them have different but overlapping benefits. All of the bacteria work together to promote digestive health at multiple levels.¹

Some digestive disease specialists are now recommending probiotics for disorders that frustrate conventional medicine, such as irritable bowel syndrome. Since the mid-1990s, clinical studies have established that probiotic therapy can help treat several gastrointestinal ills, delay the development of allergies in children, and treat and prevent vaginal and urinary infections in women.

Additionally, probiotics promote the function of the intestinal inner lining, enhancing its ability to act as a barrier to the entry of potentially dangerous organisms and chemicals.²

What kind of probiotic do I need?

Traditionally, lactobacillus is the most common probiotic. It’s found in fermented foods, such as yogurt or tofu. Lactobacillus produces lactic acid, which prevents the growth of harmful, disease-causing bacteria. And that is a good thing. However, new research is highlighting the beneficial effects of a different stain of probiotics, bifidobacteria.

This particular strain of probiotic has powerful effects on the cells lining the intestinal track. For instance, bifidobacteria reduce the severity of acute food-borne diarrhea by 34% and antibiotic-associated diarrhea – a major cause of illness and death in older people – by 52%. Additionally, bifidobacteria is known to reduce traveler’s diarrhea by 8%.³

Bifidobacteria soothe irritable bowels

People with irritable bowel syndrome suffer from alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation, often suffering painful abdominal bloating and gas production. Bifidobacteria supplementation produced a significant reduction in abdominal distension and pain.^4,5

But even for those without irritable bowel syndrome, frequent minor digestive symptoms such as bloating, gas, and periodic constipation are common and can reduce comfort and quality of life. Several recent studies demonstrate significant improvements in measures of gastrointestinal wellbeing, decreases in digestive symptoms and bloating, and increases in health-related quality of life during bifidobacteria supplementation.⁶

Common sources of probiotics

Fermented foods like yogurt and tofu are good sources of probiotics, if not overly processed. Most manufacturers of yogurt, for instance, kill the beneficial bacteria during processing. The end product is pretty much empty of healthy, living organisms.

I suggest supplementing with a quality probiotic. What should consumers—including those in the natural products industry—be looking for on the back of the label—after lactobacillus and bifidobacteria? Cellulose, sodium alginate, and grape skin extract. All three protect the bacteria from oxidation and the acidic environment of the stomach.

Remember, we’re only as healthy as our guts. And replenishing our digestive systems with healthy gut bacteria is the best place to start.

1.     Gut Microbes. 2010 May-Jun;1(3):148-63.

2.     J Nutr. 2011 May;141(5):769-76.

3.     Lancet Infect Dis. 2006 Jun;6(6):374-82.

4.     Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2009 Jan;29(1):104-14.

5.     Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2011 May;33(10):1123-32.

6.     J Dig Dis. 2009 Feb;10(1):61-70.